*3 

Membership  Support 
For  a Foreign  Post 

How  One  Association  Gains 
And  Holds  It 


Membership  Support  For  a Foreign 
Post  How  One  Association 
Gains  and  Holds  It 


By  E.  Graham  Wilson 

Religious  Work  Director,  West  Side  Branch,  New  York  City 
Young  Men’s  Christian  Association 


Foreign  Department 

The  International  Committee  of  Young  Men’s  Christian 
Associations 


124  East  Twenty-Eighth  St.,  New  York  City 


SECTION  OF  WEST  SIDE  LOBBY  EXHIBIT  DURING  HAVANA  WEEK 


The  West  Side  Branch  of  New  York  City  believes  in  the 
foreign  work  of  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association. 
First,  because  of  the  obligation  resting  upon  every  organiza- 
tion bearing  the  name  of  Christian  to  spread  abroad  Christ’s 
spirit  and  His  teachings.  Second,  because  of  the  opportun- 
ity which  the  foreign  work  affords  of  developing  among  the 
membership  the  spirit  of  service  which  is  the  spirit  of  Christ. 

While  the  branch  was  still  young,  it  became  interested  in 
the  foreign  work.  The  beginnings  were  small.  The  first 
year  $900  was  contributed  toward  the  support  of  M.  A. 
Clark  in  South  America.  The  next  year  it  was  decided  that 
West  Side  should  have  its  own  special  representative.  Joseph 
E.  Hubbard,  Harvard  1 900,  then  student  secretary  of  Vir- 
ginia, who  was  about  to  begin  work  in  Havana,  Cuba,  was 
assigned.  With  the  taking  on  of  the  special  representative, 
the  budget  was  increased  to  $3,600.  This  amount  was 
given  annually  for  four  years,  when  the  withdrawal  of  a large 
contributor  reduced  it  to  $2,400.  1 he  Cuban  budget  now 

is  raised  from  among  the  general  membership.  In  addition 
to  this,  there  are  special  contributions  of  $2,000  from  a 
member  of  the  Committee  of  Management  for  the  work  in 
Madras  and  of  $1,000  from  two  others  for  the  China  work. 
Thus,  the  total  raised  by  the  West  Side  Branch  for  foreign 
work  in  the  year  1913  amounted  to  $5,400. 

The  raising  of  the  money  is  in  the  hands  of  a committee 
of  fifteen  known  as  the  Havana  Committee.  Every  depart- 
ment of  the  Association  is  represented  on  this  committee.  In 
this  way  the  foreign  work  is  made  an  activity  of  the  entire 
Association  and  not  the  work  of  any  one  department.  This 
committee  conducted  recently  its  annual  foreign  work  week, 
including  a canvass  for  funds. 

On  the  Friday  preceding  the  foreign  work  week,  a com- 
plimentary dinner  was  tendered  the  members  who  had  con- 
sented to  serve  on  the  teams,  to  acquaint  them  with  the 
Havana  work  and  the  methods  of  the  canvass.  A foreign 

3 


secretary  was  present  and  spoke.  His  message  sent  the  men 
forth  with  enthusiasm  and  a determination  to  win. 

An  effort  is  made  to  keep  the  Havana  work  a live  issue 
the  year  around.  Frequent  notes  of  the  work  and  extracts 
from  letters  from  our  representative  appear  in  West  Side  Men, 
the  weekly  paper  of  the  branch.  News-letters  are  sent  to 
all  contributors  several  times  a year.  Copies  of  his  annual 
report  are  sent  to  the  larger  contributors. 

For  five  or  six  weeks  previous  to  the  canvass,  brief  articles 
pertaining  to  the  Havana  work  appeared  in  West  Side  Men. 
In  the  issue  immediately  preceding  the  week,  a full-page 
article  with  a half-tone  of  Mr.  Hubbard,  our  representative, 
was  run,  reprints  of  which  were  used  as  campaign  literature. 

It  was  planned  so  to  decorate  the  lobby  of  the  Associa- 
tion that  no  one  could  pass  through  without  having  his  atten- 
tion called  to  the  Havana  work.  American  and  Cuban  flags 
were  draped  at  conspicuous  points.  On  the  wall  over  the 
office  hung  a large  painting  of  New  York  and  Havana  har- 
bors. As  the  money  was  raised  a boat  made  its  way  from 
New  ’f  ork  to  Havana,  advancing  one  mile  for  each  dollar 
subscribed.  The  best  piece  of  publicity  was  the  Havana 
building  which  w'as  erected  in  the  center  of  the  lobby,  with 
w'ax  figures  representing  Mr.  Flubbard  and  his  associates 
welcoming  the  young  men  of  Havana.  This  exhibit  afforded 
a point  of  contact  for  the  appeal  to  contribute. 

The  Publicity  Committee’s  duties  were  to  create  an 
atmosphere  so  that  it  would  be  easier  to  approach  men  for 
gifts  for  the  Havana  Fund.  The  effort  of  this  committee  was 
to  get  men  thinking  and  talking  about  the  Havana  work. 
Where  we  succeeded  it  had  two  effects.  First  was  the  one 
made  directly  on  the  man  who  was  thinking  of  giving.  He 
saw  the  lobby  decorated  with  Cuban  flags  and  his  curiosity 
was  aroused  when  he  saw  the  scene  from  Havana,  arranged 
with  scenery  borrowed  from  a theater  and  wax  figures 
borrowed  from  a department  store.  He  also  saw  the 

pictures  of  scenes  in  Havana.  He  felt  that  we  were  giving 

4 


some  thought  to  our  work  abroad,  and,  realizing  its  impor- 
tance, he  could  not  very  well  refuse  the  appeals  that  were 
made  to  him  by  committeemen.  1 he  second  value  was 
the  encouragement  to  men  who  had  volunteered  to  act  as 
solicitors.  They,  knowing  this  previous  advertising  had  been 
done,  felt  they  had  the  backing  of  the  Association  and  could 
approach  men  much  more  easily  for  contributions. 

The  foreign  work  week  canvass  was  started  at  the  Sunday 
meeting,  when  a short  statement  of  the  foreign  work  of  the 
Association  was  made.  On  Monday  morning  all  the  teams 
started  out  in  earnest.  There  were  eight  teams  representing 
the  physical,  educational,  religious,  boys,  social,  business  and 
employment  departments,  and  the  dormitory  men.  The 
various  teams  were  made  responsible  for  certain  amounts 
based  on  opportunity  for  solicitation  and  success  in  previous 
campaigns.  Whether  the  apportionment  was  reached  or  not 
the  effect  was  good  and  better  results  were  secured  than  if 
no  definite  apportionment  had  been  made. 

One  of  the  things  that  made  for  the  pleasure  and  success 
of  the  campaign  was  the  competition  which  developed 
between  several  of  the  teams.  One  team  had  held  the  record 
for  subscriptions  for  several  years.  It  started  off  with  a rush 
and  within  a few  days  had  reached  its  apportionment. 
Another  team,  which  in  previous  years  had  run  a poor  third, 
started  off  slowly  with  the  secret  determination  to  win  out. 
On  the  last  day  of  the  campaign  it  had  passed  the  first. 
When  the  fact  became  known  the  first  team  got  busy  again, 
which  in  turn  stirred  the  second  on.  As  a result  both  teams 
far  exceeded  their  apportionment  and,  even  after  the  campaign 
had  theoretically  closed,  they  were  still  at  it. 

The  teams  used  various  methods.  The  chairman  of  one 
team  used  three  subscription  lists.  One,  which  he  called  the 
“de  luxe,”  was  for  subscriptions  of  $10  or  over,  a second  for 
$5  subscriptions,  and  the  third  for  all  subscriptions  under  $5. 
The  man  to  be  approached  was  sized  up  and  the  proper 
list  presented.  In  the  educational  department  a letter  was 


written  to  each  student  enrolled  in  the  classes.  This  was 
followed  by  a personal  appeal  before  all  classes  when  sub- 
scriptions were  made.  Other  teams  worked  largely  in  the 
lobby.  As  far  as  possible  cash  subscriptions  were  secured. 
When  this  was  not  possible  a pledge  was  taken,  made  payable 
within  thirty  days.  About  half  of  the  subscriptions  were  by 
pledges. 

Each  night  a report,  as  accurate  as  possible,  was  turned 
in  so  that  it  was  known  at  the  close  of  each  day  exactly  how 
the  campaign  stood.  In  this  way  the  teams  that  were  falling 
down  could  be  strengthened. 

A special  feature  was  made  of  the  closing  of  the  campaign. 
At  the  conclusion  of  the  Saturday  Nighter,  the  announcement 
was  made  that  the  amount  had  been  raised  and  the  boat  was 
about  to  reach  Havana.  Passing  to  the  office,  several 
hundred  men  took  hold  of  a rope  which  was  attached  to  the 
boat  on  the  wall.  At  the  signal  from  the  chairman  of  the 
committee,  amid  shouts  and  cheers,  the  boat  was  pulled  into 
Havana  Harbor  and  the  campaign  was  over. 

The  spirit  of  the  campaigners  and  their  enthusiasm  for  the 
work  are  revealed  in  the  following  statements.  The  chairman 
of  the  business  department  committee  writes:  “I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  the  campaign  conducted  in  this  Association  for 
the  foreign  work  is  of  immense  value  to  the  membership  and 
to  those  of  us  who  participate  in  the  work,  chiefly  because  it 
gives  the  secretaries  an  opportunity  to  meet  a large  number  of 
the  men,  thereby  enlarging  their  circle  of  acquaintances  in  the 
membership.  In  the  second  place,  it  has  its  value  to  the 
members  by  not  only  bringing  them  in  touch  with  the  secre- 
taries but  in  cultivating  the  habit  of  giving  for  foreign  work. 
Moreover,  it  has  a value  in  enlarging  the  vision  both  of 
secretaries  and  members  of  the  task  in  which  they  participate. 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  much  lauded  personal  contact  method 
is  worked  to  the  largest  possible  degree  and  with  very 
satisfactory  results  in  our  campaign  here.  I am  sure  that  the 
men  in  the  business  department  enjoyed  the  time  they  spent 

6 


in  procuring  the  funds  for  this  work.  It  is  needless  to  say 
here  that  in  the  internal  workings  of  the  Association  a cam- 
paign of  this  sort  affords  large  opportunity  for  the  spirit  of 
cooperation  among  the  different  departments,  which  in  itself 
is  sufficient  cause  for  undertaking  a piece  of  work  of  this 
kind.” 

The  work  of  the  dormitory  team  was  so  unique  and  so 
different  from  that  of  the  other  teams  that  special  mention 
should  be  made  of  it.  The  dormitories  accommodate  308 
men.  To  work  among  these  men  a special  dormitory  com- 
mittee of  thirty-seven  men  was  organized,  three  from  each 
of  the  twelve  floors  with  a chairman.  By  this  organization 
the  chairman  supervised  the  work  through  his  twelve  sub- 
chairmen. Much  enthusiasm  was  shown  by  the  men.  The 
element  of  competition  between  the  various  floors  entered  in 
and  helped  in  the  raising  of  the  money.  That  the  committee- 
men were  in  earnest  is  evidenced  by  the  following  incident. 
As  one  of  the  secretaries  who  lived  in  the  dormitory  got  off 
the  elevator  in  the  wee  hours  of  the  morning,  one  of  the  doors 
opened  and  a fellow  rushed  out  and  said,  “Well,  now,  1 have 
you  at  last.”  As  the  secretary  straightened  up,  wondering 
what  he  had  done,  the  excited  fellow  saw  his  mistake  and 

apologized:  “I  beg  your  pardon,  I thought  you  were  . 

I am  after  him  for  Havana  and  I will  get  him  if  I have  to 
stay  up  all  night  to  do  it.” 

The  dormitory  committee  chairman  writes:  “The  appeal 
was  made  to  the  fellows  not  as  a foreign  mission  enterprise 
but  as  a West  Side  extension  movement.  Some  of  the  men 
might  have  been  antagonized  by  the  term  foreign  missions. 
But  when  the  proposition  was  put  up  to  them  as  an  oppor- 
tunity to  help  give  the  fellows  in  Havana  some  of  the  same 
privileges  which  they  themselves  enjoy  at  West  Side,  they 
saw  it  in  a new  light.  Their  interest  was  secured  at  once 
and  in  the  majority  of  instances  their  contributions  as  well.” 

The  physical  department  team  won  the  contest,  raising 
$600  from  the  men  in  the  gymnasium.  “The  basis  of  the 

7 


appeal,”  said  the  physical  director,  ‘‘was  that  there  are  young 
men  down  in  Cuba  who  need  just  the  same  kind  of  recreation 
center  that  we  have  here  at  West  Side,  and  when  put  up  to 
them  in  this  way  they  respond  generously.  To  the  man  who 
could  not  quite  see  the  proposition  from  the  above  standpoint, 
the  situation  was  placed  before  him  that  it  was  because  some- 
one was  thinking  of  the  New  York  boy  and  others  were 
contributing  to  the  support  of  our  Association  to  place  its 
privileges  within  the  reach  of  the  average  man.  Someone 
had  to  do  this  for  a new  Association  in  a new  community 
where  the  people  were  not  educated  up  to  the  Association 
standard.  Therefore,  we  appealed  to  our  members  because 
they  know  from  actual  use  what  the  Association  can  do  for 
a young  man.” 

The  amount  needed  was  raised  and  money  provided  in 
addition  for  the  expenses  of  the  Foreign  Work  Committee. 
1 he  by-products  were  as  valuable  as  the  product  itself. 
Ninety  men  were  banded  together  in  unselfish  service  for  the 
promotion  of  an  unselfish  work.  Eight  hundred  and  fifty- 
three  members  were  led  to  give  of  their  means  to  their  fellow 
men.  Better  still,  hundreds  of  men,  as  they  passed  through 
the  lobby  and  the  various  classes  of  the  Association  during 
that  week,  were  reminded  of  the  Christ  spirit  which  regards 
all  men  as  brothers  and  love  as  the  greatest  thing  in  the 
world. 


8 


FOREIGN  WORK  LITERATURE 


CHRISTIAN  PAN-AMERICANISM.  By  P.  A.  Conard.  Twenty- 
four  pages  descriptive  of  the  South  American  countries — their  glory, 
power  and  perils,  and  the  operations  of  the  Young  Men’s  Christian 
Association  against  common  enemies  of  character  and  civilization. 
Prepaid,  per  hundred,  $3.00;  dozen,  50  cents;  5 cents  each. 

FIVE  YEARS  OF  PROGRESS.  A review  of  Association  work  in 
China  and  Korea  from  1907  to  1912— a stimulating  record  of  ac- 
complishment. Price  prepaid,  per  hundred,  $10.00;  dozen  copies, 
$2.00;  single  copy,  20  cents. 

ANOTHER  YEAR’S  PROGRESS.  Report  of  the  China  National 
Committee  tor  1913 — “a  year  of  unexpected  opportunities,  problems 
and  results.”  Price  prepaid,  per  hundred,  $10.00;  dozen  copies, 
$2.00;  single  copy,  20  cents. 

MEMBERSHIP  SUPPORT  FOR  A FOREIGN  POST-HOW  ONE 
ASSOCIATION  GAINS  AND  HOLDS  IT.  By  E.  Graham  Wilson. 
Prepaid,  per  hundred,  $2.00;  dozen,  25  cents,  single  copies  gratis. 

SHALL  WE  SPEND  HALF  A MILLION?  By  Arthur  Rush.  A 
sixteen-page  pamphlet  of  concise  answers  to  the  questions  Why, 
When,  Where,  How  the  Foreign  Work  is  done.  Prepaid,  per  hun- 
dred, $2.00;  fifty,  $1.00;  dozen,  25  cents.  Sample  free. 

THE  SECOND  CITY  OF  THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE.  By  B.  R. 

Barber.  A fresh  twenty-page  pamphlet,  illustrated,  describing 
Calcutta  and  the  program  and  achievement  of  the  Young  Men’s 
Christian  Association  toward  meeting  the  moral  and  religious 
needs  of  its  youth  and  manhood.  Prepaid,  per  hundred,  $3.00; 
dozen,  50 cents;  5 cents  each. 

THE  MEN  OF  INDIA  AND  CEYLON.  By  E.  C.  Carter.  In  a recent 
revision  are  marshaled  fresh  facts  concerning  the  history,  develop- 
ment, present  status  and  opportunity  of  the  Young  Men’s  Chris- 
tian Association  in  India  and  Ceylon.  Prepaid,  per  hundred,  $3.00; 
dozen,  50  cents;  5 cents  each. 

FOREIGN  MAIL  ANNUAL,  1914.  An  annual  review  of  the  For- 
eign Work.  Prepaid,  per  hundred,  $10.00;  dozen,  $2.00;  20  cents  each. 

FOREIGN  MAIL.  A bi-monthly  periodical  of  32  pages,  illustrated. 
Annual  subscription  25  cents;  in  clubs  of  ten  or  more  15  cents  each. 

Foreign  Department,  The  International  Com- 
mittee 124  East  Twenty-Eighth  St.,  New  York  City 


